Five things that mess up your backups

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  1. Unencrypted data
news reports of lost or stolen tapes have become more frequent. Most states now require public notification of such a loss. Regarding personal data, however, there's a moral obligation to keep it safe that goes beyond the risk of public exposure. According to CBSnews.com, someone steals a person's identity every 79 seconds, and then opens an account in that name and goes on a buying spree. And a Gartner Group study reveals that 1 in 50 people have suffered from some type of identify theft. Given the incredible popularity of this crime and the huge impact it has on those targeted (you could be the next victim), do you want it to be your backup tape that helps some identity thief?

There are two solutions to this problem. First and foremost, encrypt your backups. There are a number of ways to encrypt data, such as using backup software encryption and encryption engines built into fabric switches, tape libraries and disk drives. The second solution is to not ship tapes offsite but to use a disk-based deduplication backup system that replicates your backups offsite. If you still want to make tapes, make them at your offsite location.

In my opinion,

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anyone in management who refuses to fund the security of backups should be relieved of their duties, and very well could be if things go wrong. Make sure that person isn't you. If your company is shipping unencrypted backup tapes with personal information on them, you should immediately notify your superiors in writing of the seriousness of this problem and request a project to solve it. Document your request and the response, especially if it's a negative one. Continue to make yourself a pain until they solve the problem or give you another job; you don't want the job of enabling identity thieves.

In sum, while some of these solutions may be simpler than others, a lot of what you can do to make your backups better comes down to understanding the limitations of what you're using and knowing how to document and improve your backup processes. Sometimes it pays to spend money on specialized backup tools that provide a clearer view of your backup environment.

This was first published in November 2008

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